What I’m Watching: Defiance

Defiance: Season 1, Episode 6 “Brothers in Arms” (C)

I am not impressed with the ability of the legal authorities in this show’s universe to contain arrested criminals. Though he acted mostly on his own unlike last week’s central prisoner, Madis escaped custody quite easily and managed to do well for himself right up until the moment that Nolan decided that it would be best to shoot him rather than risk him being honored for the horrible things that he did. Discovering that he just liked causing people pain, as the occasionally likable Datak had the pleasure of doing, was unfortunate, and made his sudden demise not all too regrettable. What was less convincing was the character of Eddie, who apparently sacrificed his freedom for Nolan and then, after nearly being ready to shoot him to be able to turn Madis in for a major reward, decided that he would once again give himself up so that his good old friend Nolan could be free to do whatever he wanted and to spend time with Irisa. He’s just going to escape anyway, so it’s not as if his big gesture is terribly consequential. I’m not sure that either Kenya or Nolan is cut out for a traditional relationship, but it would be nice if Kenya wasn’t simply relegated to being part of Nolan’s plotline since she’s more than capable of sustaining her own stories independent of him. I’m not sure how I feel about Gale Harold’s Connor, but I imagine he’ll be back again soon. We’re seeing so little of Nicky and Birch, but what we have seen is intriguing if not entirely fulfilling.